Harry didn’t really know why he had accepted Neville’s offer. Two hours ago, it had seemed like a good idea; spending the night here would give them a little bit more time and they could work together on the nursery. Lying in Theodore Nott’s bed, he still looked forward to it: helping his friend with the restauration of the baby cradle meant a lot to him.
The dinner has been pleasant. Pansy has been nervous during the first thirty minutes but they had finally made her laugh and feel at ease again. She was smart, teasing and often snarky but also soft and watchful and somehow, between cheeses and dessert, she found a way to dismiss her boyfriend and apologize to Harry. Even when he told her they were okay, she had at heart to apologize and explain herself again, assuring him she wasn’t the mean girl he thinks she was, that she had grown up and out of the pretentious and shallow girl she pretended to be. She didn’t dwell on the war or the previous years but made it clear that she never shared any of Voldemort view and couldn’t care less about blood purity or lineage, and that pureblood or not, she would still be in love with Neville Frank Longbottom. So seeing Pansy in the morning wasn’t what kept him awake and slightly nauseous. It was more the fact that he was a wall away from a sleeping Draco Malfoy.
He had only saw him for a couple of minutes, barely enough to see him. He had stayed in the entrance, talking to them through the open door as he took off the pastel blue hood of his muggle cloak, revealing pink cheeks from his bike ride home. Harry had had barely enough time to realise who he was looking at that Draco had already offered him Theo’s room, arguing that as Blaise wasn’t coming home until dawn, he was going to share his room with Nott anyway. Then he had disappeared upstairs. The only proof of his being was the coat hanging in the hatstand and the shoes neatly waiting against the wall.
Strangely, the rest of the evening had appeared longer, and now that he waited for sleep, minutes felt like hours. Giving up on sleep and ready for another restless night, Harry lighted up the bedside lamp and started reading the charm textbook left on the bedpost.
It was way past two in the morning when he heard quiet knocks at his door.
“Come in.” he invited, ready to find Neville overthinking his coming fatherhood.
“I saw light under the door.” Draco calmly stated, as if it was absolutely mundane to be facing his old school rival in the middle of the night.
In the feeble light of the room, he looked almost unreal. His white blond hair were held back behind his ears as they now fall freely just above his shoulders, curling a little bit. His silver eyes were fixed on him as he, too, was unbashfully detailing him.
Somehow, Harry wondered if he had ever really seen the other boy, or if they were both looking at each other for the first time.
“I wanted to thank you.” Draco finally said, looking him in the eyes. “For everything you did for me. Saving my life, pleading in my favour during the trial.” He shrugged, unknowingly uncovering a little more skin as his loosed shirt slid upon his shoulder. “Offering me a hand I’ve never deserved.
-Just listen, Potter. Please.” He added, more gently. “What you did for me… You didn’t have to, and I’ll always be thankful, but what you did for Mother, what you said during her trial, I will never forget. Without you she’d be serving a life sentence in Azkaban. Without you…” he trailed off, suddenly looking away. Raising a hand to keep Harry silent, he closed his eyes and took a few deep breathe. As he opened his eyes and meet the green ones again, the glimmer Harry saw had vanished. “So thank you, Potter. Maybe it’s not that much for you, but it means the world to me. And I know we’re going to see each other a little bit more now that we have Teddy and Alyssa in common, but if it bothers you, I’ll make myself as tiny as possible. I know what I’ve done, I know who I’ve been, and I’d understand if I disgusted you; but if you ever need something I can help you with, I’ll do it. Whatever it is. I will pay our debt toward you and make amends.
-Malfoy” Harry called back as the blond boy was already living the room.
Grabbing a shirt, he hurried out of the bed but his ex-arch nemesis had already retrieved behind his own bedroom door.”
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